Pakistani refugees press for rehabilitation in Rajasthan

Bikaner, Mar 16 : Pakistani refugees' delegation on Sunday met the Government officials in Bikaner to press for their rehabilitation in Rajasthan.

A large delegation of the refugees explained their plight to the officials at the circuit house of the town while demanding immediate action from the Government.

They demanded that the time limit for becoming an Indian national should be reduced from the present seven years of stay in India.

"I have this request to the Government of India that the time limit is reduced by three years," said, Bhavar Lal, a refugee.

They demanded educational facilities for their children and provision of cultivable land, identity cards, ration cards and employment.

The Government officials while assuring them of their rehabilitation said that it is one of their major concerns.

"We are trying to rehabilitate those people who have got the Indian nationality and I think it is their major concern. We are trying to help them so that they can get ration cards and can make accounts in BPL (below poverty level). We will also try to provide them education and make them eligible enough so that they can take up jobs. For this purpose we will conduct special camps and special cells will be made to help them in the process," said A. K. Pandey, Additional Chief Secretary, Rajasthan.